Back From Blog Slumber...

It's been a while since I have put in an entry. And with friends asking and reminding me that it's been awhile since I've updated my blog, I've decided to now update it. God has really been good and gracious to me. There are so many things to thank and praise God for that I don't really know how and where to start. That's one of the reason beside my laziness that explains why my blog has not been updated =þ.

Many of you who are not my airforce friends probably wonder what I've been up to in the past few months since I completed the OCS training phase. In brief, I've been through a course that contains modules that are essential to flying, medical tests, G-profiles, etc.

COURSE

I've never experienced such intensity of presentations and exams in my whole life of education up till this course. It was really a great and unforgettable experience! I really thank God for seeing me through this course, which lasted 2 months. God provided course mates who were really great company. And nights with them were never without boistrous laughter. So boistrous that it got us into some trouble =þ. Anyway, I really thank God for them and God willing, most of them would be going over to Australia with me. Thank God for the good memory, wisdom and composure throughout the presentations and exams. God has even graciously blessed me with highest scores for two of the exams. All glory to GOD!

MEDICAL TESTS/G-PROFILES

During the first medical test that I went through before I entered the airforce, I found out through the doctors that the polyps in my nose were larger than normal and it was restricting the airflow through my left nostril. And duing that first medical test, I was sent to get a heart scan because my ECG showed a suspected heart murmur. Through it all, I thank God that He heard my prayer and at the end of that first medical test, I was certified fit to fly. And here it was again that same thorough medical test that I was to go through before I fly off to Australia. I was afraid and fearful of whether there would be any problems that I might have, which would delay me from going for training. But God is good and almighty for He has graciously given me a body that is fit and healthy enough to leave to train in Australia! Praise God from Whom all Blessings flow!

G-profiles are basically sessions of subjecting the body to higher gravitational(G) forces with the aim that the human body will get used to it. ECG leads were placed on our bodies on some of the sessions to see if our heart was ok when subjected to higher G-forces. And I want to thank God that all is fine with me, considering that my first medical test showed suspected heart murmur on my ECG!! God is indeed gracious and Sovereign! I want to thank God too for seeing and strenghtening me through the various G-profiles which included 8Gs! Thank God that I did not G-LOC (G-induced Loss Of Conciousness). It was really by His strength and grace that I've gone through the G-training sessions without G-LOC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJi1vi9XHWY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuPTi4rcCV0&mode=related&search=

NOW...

God-willing, I'll be departing for Australia at the end of September. So as of now, I have administrative stuff to settle, lessons to revise and review and and am just eagerly waiting to go over to Australia. This phase of training would decide whether I go to fighters, Helicopters, Transport or I get chop. If you haven't already known, my dream and desire is to go to the fighters, even for NFTC (http://www.nftc.net/nftc/en/flash/nftc.jsp), a fighter course conducted in Canada, which is even harder to get in. Only the true and living God, my God can bring it to pass for He alone is Sovereign!

MY DAILY PRAYER...

"O Lord my God, the God Whom the Highest Heavens and the earth cannot contain, Creator and God of the universe. Who am I to come before You, the Creator of the Universe? But I thank You O Lord that through Your Son Jesus Christ, I'm able to come boldly yet humbly before Your throne.

I commit to you my dream and desire of being a fighter pilot, the dream of even going for NFTC, into Your mighty Hands. O Lord, there are many uncertainties and odds against me, but I know that You are a great God and You alone are in absolute control for you are Sovereign! O God, I will not trust in my strength, nor will I trust in my ability, or anything else. But my trust, my faith, my hope will solely and entirely be in You O God, for You O God giveth grace to fly well, for you O Lord giveth strength and the ability! And it is You O God who grants the fighter slot. So God, I pray and plead with You to bring it to pass for Your Glory O Lord, yet not my will but Yours be done.

In Jesus' Name I pray, A-men."

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? -Psa 8:3-4

"... God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom..." -Dan 1:17

"And I[God] have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship" -Exo 31:3

"And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much..." -1Ki 4:29

Dentists and Needles!

"...The heart pumps faster, there is an unnoticable(at least to the people around) increase in breathing rate and a slight tensing of the muscle..."

No, I'm not describing what happens when boy meets girl. Rather, it's what I experience before each injection and dental visit. I have a phobia of needles and I dread going to the dentist. That's why I shun blood donation, queue last when it comes to vaccination jabs and procrastinate when it's time to visit the dentist. I've always been afraid of needles and scaling from young!

Now, what do we get when we put dentists and needles together? ... My nightmare - a horrible, gut wrenching , torturous wisdom tooth extraction! Wisdom tooth extraction procedure:

1) Injection will be given to the jaw area to numb the area.

2) The gum around the tooth is retracted and moved to one side.

3) Some of the jaw bone around the tooth is removed.

3) Often the tooth is sawed into 2 pieces before it is removed.

4) The gum is then repositioned and stitched. The stitches will be removed 1 week later.

I went to the dentist recently for a check up to see if I needed to extract the two wisdom teeth I have. This checkup was to clear me for my training overseas. Most of my friends with wisdom teeth had to extract theirs. Then came my turn... I entered the room, greeted the dentist and quickly took my place at the torture chair. The checking of my teeth was uneventful and when he was done checking, he asked if my wisdom teeth was giving me problems. "No problems" was my answer and his next sentence is the thing I want to give thanks to God for! He mentioned that my wisdom teeth is embedded in the bone and there is no need to extract it! Can you imagine my relief?! Whew!!

I want to give thanks to God for sparing me from wisdom teeth extraction. He is indeed merciful and gracious. A great and wonderful God is He! Who can control whether one would have have wisdom teeth or not, or if the wisdom teeth grew in a way that required it to be extracted or not? Who can control uncertainties and unknowns? Only the Creator of this universe can!

"Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" -Exo 15:11

"To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." -Jud 1:25

A DREAM~

A Dream~. . .

. . . to soar above the clouds.
. . . to tear through the sky at mach 2.
. . . to pilot the most maneuverable aircraft.
. . . to terrain mask ("hug the terrain") at break-neck speed.
. . . to hear the growl of a sidewinder.
. . . to pull excruciating Gs.
. . . to fly sweep, s.e.a.d, strike, c.a.p, e.t.c. missions.
. . . to fly high yoyos and rolling scissors.
. . . to be a F-I-G-H-T-E-R P-I-L-O-T!

The possible odds* against me. . .

1) My age - what I hear is that they prefer the younger trainees to older ones. The young learns faster.
2) My imperfect eyesight - Who would think of a specky when the term "fighter pilot" is mentioned?
3) My no-alcohol conviction - Its a grog drinking, rowdy culture! (rowdiness comes with alcohol, doesn't it.) "hmm... your character would not fit the fighter world" - a possible comment by instructors?

The uncertainties*. . .

1) The availability of fighter slots; the demand at that given point in time.
2) Physiological/health/psychological problems at any point of training.
3) Just not cut out for it?

The assurance, comfort and strength. . .

My GOD is sufficient. He is in absolute control. And yes, the uncertaintes and odds are His to control. He is the one who grants wisdom and gives the skills. God most high is the one who decides and brings to pass whatever He wills. My GOD is a living GOD!

"But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath, the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation." - Jer 10:10

"I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me."

-Psa 57:2

"For the LORD most high is terrible[to be feared and revered]; he is a great King over all the earth." - Psa 47:2

*I'm quite certain that there are more odds and uncertainties that I may have overlooked but these mentioned are the gist of what I see.

I'm a SURVIVOR...

...by GOD's abundant grace and mercies!!!

The survival training that I had just completed in Brunei was as tough or even tougher than I had expected. But I thank God that it's all over and I survived it. There are many things I would like to give thanks to God for:

WEATHER

"The rain would usually come in the late afternoon...4,5pm. It's been like that lately..." Or so the instructor said.

To put things in context, the weekend before departure to Brunei, I got a fairly deep cut on my ankle, which was sustained from a careless "encounter" with a drain. I was praying very hard that the wound would heal completely before I started my survival training but it did not. I was almost quite sure that wearing boots, being in the swamp and wet weather is the exact opposite of what a conducive condition for wound healing would be!

And so, I was a bit worried after hearing what the instructor said but I had confidence that God is ultimately in control. I asked God to give us good weather for the 3 days of survival training and 1 day of navigation and I was almost quite certain that God would answer because of the previous few days of fairly fine weather before the the actual training. However, on the evening before we were to go out for our survival training, it rained very heavily! And for just that one moment my confidence was shaken and I was anxious. Then God gently reminded me by this downpour that...

"Yes indeed, I the creator am in ultimate control of the weather. The fine weather that you have seen in the past few days and this heavy downpour that you now see comes by order from My throne. Do not be anxious."

At that point of time, I truely felt comforted and assured that my God is in control. That is all that mattered.

And guess what. Through out the entire survival training, it did not rain!! How real and great God is!

THE WOUND

As mentioned, the survival conditions that we were going into were not conducive for wound healing. And the most I could do to minimize an infection to my open wound was to get permission to bring fresh dressings, antiseptic cream and washing solution sufficient for the days that I would be in the jungle.

I went to see the medical officer (MO) with the intention of requesting a letter of authorization allowing me to bring those stuff required to keep my wound from a possible infection. (Just to elaborate, what we were allowed to bring in for the training was minimal and dressings and antiseptic cream and cleaning solutions were definitely not on the list.) When the MO saw my wound, he said that he did not want to let me go for the training as he was worried that I would get a more serious infection, melioidosis(btw, the wound was slightly infected when I saw the MO). I was thinking like.... WHAT!!!!!!! I came all the way to Brunei wanting to get the survival training over and done with and hoping never to step into the jungle in my army uniform again and now you are telling me that you don't want me to go!!! Wait a min... Wouldn't that mean I have to come back to Brunei again and it would delay my flight training? YES it would!!!! argh!!And whats more, I missed the aerospace for this s**t! okok stay calm, stay calm, pray, pray. And so I prayed to God Almighty that the MO would change his opinion and let me go for the training. Its a short 4 days and I don't want to have to come back to Brunei again, which would delay my flight training. God heard my prayer and answered it! All Praise to God!

Now I've got my dressings and all with me in the jungle and the most I could do was faithfully clean my wound and change my dressing at the end of each day just before I slept. Even before I went into the jungle for my survival training, I was praying very hard that God would preserve my wound and possibly even heal it. Understand this that for the 3 days I was in the jungle, my boots were soaked and my feet and wound were wet as well. In this kind of conditions, I wouldn't expect the wound to get better, much less, heal. When I looked at my wound every evening while changing the dressing, I did not know what to make out of it. I won't go into the details but it just looked white, wrinkled, messy and ...you get the idea. When the training came to an end and I was back in camp, able to leave the wound open to dry, I was totally amazed at what the wound had become. God had miraculously healed it and a scap had even formed! How powerful God is!

On retrospection, if my wound had healed before I started my training, I would not have seen God's power and glory! God's timing and plans are perfect! Perfect art Thou O LORD!

STRENGTH & RESOURCES

For survival, we were required to complete a given list of tasks. One of which was the building of a shelter. I would not go into the details of what I was to do but just know this that I needed lots and lots of logs and vines to complete these tasks. To cut the long story short, I was really behind time in the completion of my tasks as I wasn't able to find sufficient resources. Bear in mind that for we were not given any food until the third day when our tasks were complete. Strength was ebbing away slowly but surely. I prayed desperately to God for resources and strength to complete my tasks and God graciously led me to an area that had trees with the diameter I needed. After chopping almost 7-9 trees, which are 5-6m tall and 8-9cm thick, I thought the hardest part,chopping trees, was over. I was wrong. Bringing back these logs to my survival site was equally tough. It was really exhausting but God provided sufficient strength and I praise God for that. I completed my tasks just about the time when the instructor came in to assess. I really praise God for hearing my cry and providing the resources and strength for me to complete the tasks just in time!

If it was not for God's grace in providing the fine weather, I would have been drenched from head to toe every night as I only got the roof of my shelter up on the third day!! Great are you LORD!!!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty..." -Psa 104

Results beyond expectations!

Original Date of post: 27/01/06

It's been some time since I last posted. There are so many things in the past year to thank and praise God for that I do not know where and how to start.

Just an update on my current status - I'm currently at SAFTI MI, getting aquainted with the organisation that I'm working in, the airforce. I've just had a test the past week and I really thank God for blessing me withgood results. Our commanders had made it clear that whoever got above 70 marks would book out on friday night, which is today, and whoever got below 70 will only book out on saturday morning. And for those who failed, they'll be confined till saturday afternoon and would be required to take a retest. I thank God for the discpline to study for the test in the first place.During the course of studying for the test, I was praying real hard that I would get 70 and above so that I would be able to book out on friday (one must undestand that an extra night spent at home is much treasured and longed for by stay-in personnels such as I). And guess what, I not only got above 70 marks, but God blessed me with the highest marks in the wing!! How great is that! I wasn't even confident of getting above 70 but God had answered my prayer more than I've asked for. I'm really awed and overjoyed at how God works and how real and great a God He is!!=) Great Are You LORD my GOD!

All praise and Glory to God most High!!

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." -Jer 33:3

The days of "Mugging" [Part 2]

Original Date of post: 05/11/05

I studied life science in university. Life science dealt with everything biological, which simply meant everything living and organic - you, me, the plants and animals, the environment we live in, the genetic make up and composition of living things, even right down to the chemical structures of these genes and the processes that goes on in our bodies to keep us functioning.

My University days have been a very enriching one. The three years of university proved only to strenghten my belief and faith in God the Creator. I recalled someone asking me how I could reconcile what I was studying and what I believe in. The reason why this guy was asking me this was because our uni lecturers tend to always attribute the complex metabolic processes or any complexity in an organism or living thing to the millions of years of evolution, which played God completely out of the picture. But byGod's grace, I did not have problem in reconciling what I studied and what I believe. The solution is simple. What we see today - complex chemical and biological composition and processes which are common and similar in the diverse life forms found on earth. The cause - Evolution over the millions of years solely left to the hands of chance or An infinite supreme being who created them, which accounts for the similar design despite the diversity of living things. Evolution or Creation? Man's wisdom or God's wisdom? Man's words or God's word? Nature as it is today; SMART man sees nature and interprets it as the result of evolution which is purely a theory in the firstplace because man was not there in the beginning to prove it a fact. The theory is solely based on the present, CLEVER deductions and man's wisdom. From the trend of science, theories are always changing as technology advances and reveals more. On the other hand, God tells us from His word that:

"All things were made by him[God]; and without him was not any thing made that was made" - John 1:3

He was there from the beginning -

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." -John 1:1

To us man whose life span is an average of 70 years God asks,

"Where wast thou when I[God] laid the foundations ofthe earth? declare if thou hast understanding." -Job38:4

I ask again myself and anyone reading this, a series of fair questions - Man's wisdom or God's Wisdom? Man's account or God's account? Man's words or God's word? Which is more reliable and trustworthy? Whose words have always been changing? Whose words are infallible and inerrant? Man's words and theory or God's word? This conclusion is for the individual to conclude. As for me, I have concluded and the the solution for recounciling what I studied and what I believe is as simple as taking God the infinite and supreme being at His word. He claimed that He created all things and was present from the beginning and I believe and trustHim on that because of who He is - A Holy and righteous God who does not and cannot lie. Been given both sides of the "story", I would say it is foolishness to believe man who falls every now and then, makes mistakes (I wonder who said, "to err is only human"), who is only mortal, whose word is subjected to change and whose wisdom is limited rather than God who is infallible, inerrant, all powerful, never changing and Whose wisdom is unsearchable.

Some final thoughts on this matter: I find it impossible and ilogical to believe that the intricate, highly complex genetic, chemical composition and processes coupled with the complex metabolic pathways that all function in flawless sync to make every living thing functional, which is far more advance and complex than any of man's technologyis attributed to chance. A table or chair has a simple design and is attributed to a human designer; a bird house with a simple design hung on a tree, incapable of repairing itself is attributed to a human designer. But a human being, who designed and made the chair and table whose biological design and "blueprint" is so complex that scientists up till today with their highly sophisticatedequipment are still baffled and puzzled at its mysteries and complexities, is attributed to chance; the tree on which the bird house is hung is equally complex in its design and is capable of "repairing" itself is attributed to chance. What logic is that? Shouldn't basic scientific principle and reasoning tell us that if a simple design is attributed to a designer, how much more shouldn't a complex design be attributed to a designer as well??!A Supreme Designer.

"For the invisible things of him from the creation ofthe world are clearly seen, being understood by thethings that are made, even his eternal power andGodhead; so that they are without excuse: Becausethat, when they knew God, they glorified him not asGod, neither were thankful; but became vain in theirimaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."-Rom 1:20-21

The days of "Mugging" [Part 1]

Original date of post: 31/10/05

I started my studies at the National University ofSingapore (NUS) in 2002. Even as close as a few months before school started I wasn't quite sure on what to major in. After some prayer and consideration, I chose Life Science. What was I thinking?! I did not even have 'O' level Biology! These thoughts did not occur to me at that point of time. It came rather on retrospection. I remembered some friends commenting that it was very brave of me to jump into a totally new area of study. So how did I do in those 3 years of study? I did not get excellent grades but I was contented with what God gave me. Reasonable grades for me to pass with a merit. Praise God!=)

Through the 3 years, I thank God for providing a good friend who was willing and ever ready to help me in my studies. What were the chances of meeting an old time church friend whom I've not been in contact for about10 years and having him in the same Life Science course as me? Slim I would say. The next part gets even better. During lab and tutorial sessions, we'll be almost always in the same class because our surnames were alphabetically close. What were the chances of that?! Neither event could be planned. Not by man at least. I can only say that it was God's wonderful providence and perfect plan worked out.

Examinations were the most dreaded yet looked forward to event of the semester. Dreaded because of countless reasons. ha. Looked forward to because of the semester holidays that followed after that. The nature of studying life science is such that lots of memory work is required. Understanding the topic helps, but it was not sufficient. If you guys haven't already known, I do not really excel in memory work. Anyway, each test and exam period was really challenging and I really thank God that He answered my prayer of seeing me through the exams each semester. I would say my faith and trust in God for seeing me through the exams grewwith every passing semester. At every exam period, Iwould be reminded that since God had seen me through the past number of semesters, He would definitely see me through the current one. With this assurance, I prayed in faith. However, I recalled moments during exams that despite the knowledge that God had seen me through the past semesters and exams, I still let anxiety take over and I started to worry about failing the exam. One such semester was my last semester. During the exam period of the last semester, I got a call from the airforce telling me that I have passed the medical test, which was the 3rd and final test before airgrading and that they were ready to accept me once I graduated. This call caused me to worry about scenarios that if I did not pass my last semester, my intake into the airforce would be delayed. Worst still, they might not want me.I thank God that these thoughts and anxieties did not last long. I was quickly reminded by God that He was Sovereign. On retrospection, how quickly I let circumstances and challenges of the world "grow larger" than God who made the world and is in control! I really praise and thank God for seeing me through my 3 years of studies in NUS. Without God I would not dare think of the possible outcome. How gracious and good the LORD is.=) All Glory to God who is the Beginning and the End, theAlpha and Omega!

'O Lord Most High, Creator and most Sovereign Lord, grant me the grace to remain unmovable and steadfast in the knowledge of and faith in You and Your Word even in the most distressing storms and burdensome challenges of life ahead. Grant me the grace to live by faith that I might be pleasing unto You. In Jesus'name I pray, A-men'

"But without faith it is impossible to please him[God]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." -Heb 11:6

Restarting

After dealing and clarifying some technical problems, the blog is up again for the glory of God. =) will be putting back some of the entries.

All Glory to God!